World Press on Victim Blaming, Violent Speech and Rohingya: New Age Islam's Selection, 21 October 2020
By New Age Islam Edit
Bureau
21 October
2020
• Violent Speech Begets Violent Nation
By Shuprova Tasneem
• Say No To Victim Blaming: A Long March To
Brutalities
By Badiuzzaman Bay
• Does Supporting Election Justify Exclusion Of
Rohingyas?
By Kamal Ahmed
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Violent Speech Begets Violent Nation
By Shuprova Tasneem
October 21,
2020
Photo:
Collected
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This month,
the release of a gang rape video in Noakhali forced us to take a long, hard look
at ourselves and confront an ugly but often overlooked reality—women and
children are falling victim to sexual violence on a daily basis in Bangladesh.
The sheer brutality of the horrific footage inspired nationwide condemnation.
People were shocked, ashamed and most of all, enraged.
This rage
translated into protests across the country, inspiring debates on exemplary
punishments for rapists, the politics of power and patronage that allows
criminals to act with impunity, wider institutional reforms to ensure the
justice system acts for victims and not against them, and the entrenched norms
in our society that contribute to rape culture and asks the rape survivor to
"share the blame" of the crime committed against them. This was
especially scrutinised after two men from hugely different backgrounds, actor
Ananta Jalil and Hefazat secretary general Junaid Babunagari, expressed similar
views regarding the importance of women's "decent" dress to avoid
enticing men into violent crimes like rape.
In the
midst of these heated debates, another less conspicuous but equally normalised
thread of violence has emerged: the continuous and constant vitriol and hatred
expressed online against women.
According
to the UN Strategy and Plan of Action on Hate Speech: "the term hate
speech is understood as any kind of communication in speech, writing or
behaviour, that attacks or uses pejorative or discriminatory language with
reference to a person or a group on the basis of who they are, in other words,
based on their religion, ethnicity, nationality, race, colour, descent, gender
or other identity factor. This is often rooted in, and generates intolerance
and hatred and, in certain contexts, can be demeaning and divisive."
The Gender
Equality Strategy paper of the Council of Europe further elaborates on hate
speech targeted at women: "Sexist hate speech takes many forms both online
and offline, notably victim blaming and re-victimisation;
"slut-shaming"; body-shaming; "revenge porn" (the sharing
of explicit or sexual images without consent); brutal and sexualised threats of
death, rape and violence; offensive comments on appearance, sexuality, sexual
orientation or gender roles; but also false compliments or supposed jokes,
using humour to humiliate and ridicule the target."
The most
obvious expression of online sexist hate speech in Bangladesh is the view that
"certain kinds" of women invite rape upon themselves or deserve to be
raped. These comments have been made about protestors criticising capital
punishment as an easy-fix solution (what do they expect, walking around at
night dressed like that?), about social media commentators questioning misogyny
and entrenched sexist views (these women just mimic Western ideas and mix
freely with men, then complain when they are raped), about activists trying to
start conversations on marital rape (their husbands sure need to teach them a
lesson), and about any woman in general who expressed a view that may not fit
neatly into certain traditional (read: patriarchal) ideas on society and
women's roles in it.
In all of
these comments, a running thread is the demeaning and humiliating language used
to reduce women into being nothing more than body parts, and the suggestion
that women who do not behave in certain ways deserve to be punished somehow.
The most widely discussed example of this in recent days was an alleged comment
by a ruling party student leader at the Dhaka University campus on how
"all women deserve to be free of sexual violence, except those with
anti-liberation ideas." Although the leader vehemently insisted he had
been misquoted, the incident is not unrepresentative of the views of many men
regarding women whose opinions and ideas they are not on board with.
This month,
one example of this form of hate speech was widely circulated—a Facebook post
titled "how to rape a girl" went viral, and one youth was
subsequently arrested by Rab on October 11. This decision to use the Digital
Security Act to shut down such violent rhetoric against women was widely lauded
online. However, this arrest only shows how indiscriminately the DSA can be
used. Why arrest this one man only when there was pressure on the government to
act on violence against women, when it is suggested that 73 percent of female
users of online spaces in Bangladesh have faced some form of violence, and the
numbers are continuously on the rise?
It must be
stressed that in no way can one support the draconian DSA, which grants
sweeping powers to the executive and the prosecuting authorities and allows
them to arbitrarily decide offences according to vague and ill-defined
criteria. However, we must remember that cyber harassment of women was cited
often enough as a reason for enacting the DSA, yet there is nothing within the
Act that actually criminalises it. The closest it comes to is the controversial
Section 25, according to which, sharing "offensive or fear-inducing"
information, or information that you know to be false, "with the intention
to annoy, insult, humiliate or denigrate a person", can land you in jail
for three years on the first count.
Have women
not been annoyed, insulted, humiliated or denigrated enough online? Or do they
not count as "persons"? Even as the poorly worded DSA opens up
avenues to use it to silence differing opinions, it is ironic that it has
mostly been wielded against journalists, cartoonists and musicians and not
sadists and sexists who fantasise online about torturing women. If nothing, it
once again proves that laws that clamp down on freedom of speech almost always
end up targeting the wrong kind of speech, where hate continues but dissent
gets drowned out.
The
campaign of online verbal violence against women is not a new phenomenon. The
issue is not just the existence of certain sexist views that are totally
against the notion of equal rights for women and men (as enshrined in the
Constitution), but that opposition to these views are so often met with blind
hatred that quickly descends into violent language. The implication is that if
women behave with any more agency than is desired, they must be put back into
their place with the appropriate punishment. This desire to dominate and
humiliate, to be obeyed or gain that obedience by force, is a classic trait of
toxic masculinity that is all too prevalent in our society.
All of this
is symptomatic of a society that has been seduced by violence and is now firmly
in its grips. The dehumanisation of women that allows men to go online and
identify rape victims who "deserved it", or mock women who
"complain" about being raped by their husbands (because how can you
force yourself on someone who is already your property?), is the same
dehumanisation that leads to rape in the first place. It is also this
dehumanisation that pushes us to demand death penalty for rapists, or to say
that drug dealers deserve extrajudicial killings rather than fair trials. Our
violent tendencies manifest in different ways—sometimes as online hate speech,
sometimes as considering certain classes of society as being sub-human and thus
less deserving of justice, and sometimes as violence against women and
children. It is all part of the same spectrum, and we cannot deal with one if
we continue to wilfully ignore the others.
----
Shuprova Tasneem is a member of the editorial
team at The Daily Star.
https://www.thedailystar.net/opinion/news/violent-speech-begets-violent-nation-1981445
----
Say No to Victim Blaming: A Long March to
Brutalities
By Badiuzzaman Bay
October 20,
2020
At
around 11:30 am on Saturday, the demonstrators came under attack allegedly from
the activists of local Awami League, Jubo League and Chhatra League units after
they had concluded a rally in the Shaheed Minar area of Feni. Photo: Star
-----
It could
have been just another episode in the regular show of police and ruling party
men merrily clamping down on the "disturbers of public peace" who
love to play with people's emotions with their pesky ideas and noisy chants of
human rights abuses. Usually, there would be the clean-up after that, with the
cheerleaders stepping in and going through the ritual of handing out half-baked
stories about who attacked whom first, and that would be the end of it. No
subtlety would be expected, because there would be none.
But this
particular episode went off the rails to become a farce so incongruous and so
bleak that it tests the mind. It took place on Saturday, in Feni, although the
story began a day earlier. On Friday, hundreds of demonstrators led by some
left-leaning parties embarked on a two-day Long March from Dhaka to Noakhali to
protest against the growing incidents of rape in the country. Their
spray-painted slogans—"Silence is unjust when humanity is affected",
"End the culture of impunity", "Rape and crossfire are the
government's weapons", "Say no to victim blaming", and "We
want the resignation of the failed home minister" (The Daily Star)—offered
a condensed history of yet another tumultuous week in Bangladesh which began
after the brutal assault and gang rape of a Noakhali woman, on video, by men
loyal to the ruling Awami League. For many in the crowd, it was the final spark
to a reservoir of pent-up anger and despair.
At around
11:30 am on Saturday, the demonstrators came under attack allegedly from the
activists of local Awami League, Jubo League and Chhatra League units after
they had concluded a rally in the Shaheed Minar area of Feni. According to
media reports, the attackers used sticks and rods to beat the protesters and
vandalised several buses carrying them. Police have given a different version
of the story, however. Mainul Islam, an additional superintendent of police in
Feni, told The Daily Star that it was not an attack but a "scuffle"
that broke out after "derogatory comments" were made against the local
MP at the rally. "In protest, his followers brought out a procession.
Activists from the Long March chased the followers of the lawmaker and a
scuffle ensued," he said.
If you have
seen the video clips that surfaced on social media following the attack, you
may have different ideas about what really transpired, but the glib label of
"scuffle" will surely not be one of them. One somewhat graphic clip
takes us inside one of the buses where a protester lay unconscious, with
several others with cuts and bruises, and blood stains visible on the floor of
the bus. The camera then cuts to a scene in a hospital where you hear the
wailing of the injured, and then to another scene showing shards of broken
glass strewn across the road near the buses. What police described as a scuffle
initiated by anti-rape protesters ended up injuring at least 35 of them, 10
suffering severe injuries. Equally shockingly, it was the police that
reportedly abetted the ruling party thugs to launch their attacks and ransack
the buses.
With
"friends" like these, who needs enemies, right?
The
juxtaposition of the three protagonists of this episode—the protesters, the
police, and the ruling party men—acquires special significance when we consider
the following facts. First, what police officers, both uniformed and
plainclothes, did is significant not just for the fact that they were supposed
to aid peaceful protesters instead of their attackers but also for the timing
of their unholy cameo performance. As it transpired, the day the police chose
to crack down on the anti-rape protesters was also the day when Bangladesh
Police held rallies in 6,912 beat areas across the country to "create
public awareness against rape and violence against women!" The irony of
the matter is inescapable. The irony thickens when, the next day, the DMP
commissioner claims that more than 95 percent of people "expressed
satisfaction with the police service in filing GDs and cases with police
stations", although police have yet to file a case against Saturday's
attackers in Feni. All this throws into sharp relief the enormous divide
between what the police say and what they do in terms of law enforcement.
Moving onto
the next protagonist—men from the Extended AL Universe, particularly Chhatra
League. No one would like to hold Chhatra League to its word, but if you
closely observe its responses during the last three nationwide movements—road
safety, quota reforms, and now rape—a chilling pattern emerges. Let me just lay
out the facts and you can have your own conclusion.
The
organisation that was allegedly behind the assaults on anti-rape protesters in
Feni and has had allegations of rape slapped against many of its members is
also one that, just last week, brought out a "celebration rally"
after the cabinet's approval of an amendment to our central law on women and
children repression (with the provision for death penalty as the maximum
punishment for single perpetrator rape). In August 2018, this same organisation
allegedly caused immense sufferings to the students involved in the movement
for safer roads, and yet it had the nerve to bring out a celebration rally
after the cabinet's approval of the draft of Road Transport Act 2018, which
literally ended the movement. In April 2018, this very organisation again
allegedly tried to derail the quota reform movement, and yet it was the one
that brought out a celebration rally after the provision for quota in
government jobs was abolished.
What do
these facts tell us about this organisation? There can be many explanations. But
several stand out to me: first, its moral and ideological fluidity; second, its
proclivity to simultaneously sabotage (through attacks) and hijack (through
organising celebration rallies) the biggest student and sociocultural movements
of our time; third, its strategic position as the first line of defence against
any movement involving students; fourth, its lack of concern for the well-being
of general students; fifth, its eagerness to use force and lack of tolerance
for critical thoughts; and finally, its immunity as an organisation, regardless
of what crimes its members and operatives commit. From the frequent
collaborations of law enforcement agencies with the organisations affiliated
with the ruling party, it would also appear that the state is outsourcing part
of policing tasks to these unruly groups, which is a disturbing development in
and of itself.
The
Saturday attack marks a dangerous turn in the so far largely peaceful
trajectory of protests to end our pervasive rape culture. It lays bare the truth
behind the fiction, and portends a long and difficult journey for the anti-rape
activists. Some have questioned Chhatra League and Jubo League's moral
organisational stand on rape following the attack. But I think it's immaterial
to the wider question of violence against women, and has more to do with men as
individuals.
By
announcing the provision of the death penalty for single perpetrator rape in
response to the anti-rape movement and then allowing attacks on those
protesting rape the government is giving mixed messages to the people. The
government has made its sincerity to stop the rape culture clear. Statements by
ministers and state officials will attest to that. But we need more in the way
of action. Can it walk the rest of the path by bringing in necessary legal and
institutional reforms necessary to prevent rape from happening, give boost to
rape trials and protect the victims and witnesses? The contrasting pictures
that are coming out of its camp do not leave much room for hope.
-----
Badiuzzaman Bay is a member of the editorial
team at The Daily Star.
https://www.thedailystar.net/opinion/magic-madness/news/long-march-brutalities-1980929
----
Does Supporting Election Justify Exclusion Of
Rohingyas?
By Kamal Ahmed
October 20,
2020
The
European Union, barely three weeks before the general election in Myanmar, held
a bilateral dialogue on human rights with the regime seeking re-election.
Following the dialogue, a joint statement issued on October 14 by the EU and
Myanmar noted that the EU reaffirmed its strong support for Myanmar's
democratic transition, notably in the context of Myanmar's upcoming general
election, as well as for its peace and reconciliation process and inclusive
socio-economic development.
In the
393-word statement, however, not once did the term Rohingya appear, which
describes the distinct identity of the ethnic minority group that has been the
subject of a prolonged persecution in Myanmar since the enactment of the
Citizenship law in 1982 that stripped them of their nationality. It is quite
shocking as it ignores the fact that the International Court of Justice (ICJ)
earlier this year in its interim order affirmed Rohingyas as a distinctive
ethnic group of Myanmar and ordered that country to protect the remaining
Rohingya population.
The EU's
official press release only said that Myanmar and the EU discussed a wide range
of human rights matters, including the situation in Rakhine, Kachin and Shan
States, humanitarian access and the situation of Internally Displaced Persons,
accountability for alleged human rights violations, fundamental rights and
freedoms, economic, labour and social rights, rights of women and human rights
cooperation in multilateral fora. According to the EU release, the EU
encouraged Myanmar to continue to implement the recommendations of the Advisory
Commission on Rakhine State, and took note Myanmar's efforts in the
implementation of its National Strategy for the Closure of Internally Displaced
Person (IDP) camps. The Advisory Commission or the Kofi Anan Commission's
recommendations about reconciliation and rebuilding, predates the 2017
Clearance Operation.
It is also
quite intriguing that the statement does not mention anything about the long
overdue repatriation of more than a million Rohingya refugees living in
Bangladesh, among them the majority, over 700,000, had to flee their homeland
following a security clearance operation carried out by the Myanmar military.
The United Nation's Human Rights chief likened the clearance operation with a
textbook case of ethnic cleansing. The UN fact-finding mission in 2019 also
concluded that killings, rapes and gang rapes, torture, forced displacement and
other grave rights violations by the country's military had prompted some
700,000 Rohingyas to flee to neighbouring Bangladesh in 2017. It said hundreds
of thousands of ethnic Rohingya who remain in Myanmar may face a greater threat
of genocide than ever, amid government attempts to "erase their identity
and remove them from the country."
When the
bilateral talks on human rights were taking place, reports were coming out from
the troubled Arakan State of continuing indiscriminate attacks against civilian
population including aerial bombing, arsoning and use of mines by the military
in the name of tackling another alleged insurgent group, the Arakan Army. A
leading rights group, the Amnesty International on October 12 called on the UN
Security Council to refer Myanmar to the International Criminal Court, ICC. It
seems that the EU is not willing to use all its tools and opportunities to
press Myanmar on meaningful and visible behavioural changes. Or else, it is
incomprehensible that they were not aware of those disturbing developments. It
has now emerged that on the same day, UN agencies in Myanmar had expressed
their "sadness" and "shock" over the killing of two boys
allegedly used as human shields by security forces in the country's northern
Rakhine province, earlier this month.
Another
disturbing development involving the EU is that it has funded an election app
in Myanmar that helps incite "racial and religious vilification" in
the country by profiling candidates' ethnicity and beliefs, using derogatory
terminology to designate those of Rohingya descent. The mVoter 2020 application
has been developed under the EU-funded STEP Democracy Project, which claims to
support "inclusive, peaceful and credible electoral processes" in
Myanmar, in order to assist the democratic transition in the country. According
to rights groups, however, the app, exacerbates religious tensions and
contributes to the discrimination of subjugated Rohingya minorities. The app
listed Rohingyas as "Bengali", a term that suggests these individuals
are immigrants from Bangladesh. The Rohingya community believe the term is
applied in a derogatory context, taking into account the human rights abuses
and persecutions they have been subjected to.
Yadanar
Maung, a spokesperson for the rights group Justice for Myanmar said,
"According to democratic values, voters should judge candidates on their
merits, not based on their religion or outdated categories of 'race' which, in
the case of the Rohingya, means denial of their identity." Listing
Rohingya candidates as "Bengali" on the app, was allegedly the reason
for the election commission to disqualify at least one candidate from taking
part in the upcoming elections.
Reports
from Myanmar suggest the National Democratic League (NLD) and its leader Aung
San Su Kyi face very little challenge in the elections. Unless the powerful
military makes any surprise moves, renewal of her government's mandate is
almost certain. It is therefore, plausible that in the absence of a credible
alternative, western powers are preparing themselves for a continuation of a
working relationship with Su Kyi, despite all her shortcomings.
Her
government's continued complicity with the military, however, brings more
frustration and anguish to the victims of the atrocities and dashes their hopes
for justice. Hence, president of the Burma Rohingya Organisation in UK, Tun
Khin, in an opinion piece in the Washington Post, calls Myanmar's democratic
election a sham and warns the international community not to be fooled by it.
His concerns are not unjustified.
-----
Kamal Ahmed is a freelance journalist based in
London.
https://www.thedailystar.net/opinion/news/does-supporting-election-justify-exclusion-rohingyas-1980917
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